What is the significance of this day?
ANZAC Day remembers the sacrifice that so many people have made through the call of service for their country.
The Australian and New Zealand armed forces commonly known as ANZAC’s have served in both WW1 and WW2 as well as other theatres of war. Among the ANZAC’s major achievements have been the Australian Light Horse charge at Beersheba with 800 men on horseback on October 31st, 1917. God used one of the world’s most recent nations (Australia) to liberate one of the worlds oldest nations (Israel).
On 31st October 1917, the ANZAC Light Horse brigade were able to help take Jerusalem from the Turks and Germans, liberating Jerusalem from 400 years of rule by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Throughout history there had been 11 unsuccessful crusades, including the military genius of Napoleon, each unable to achieve what the ANZAC’s managed. The day of the Beersheba charge, the British Government drafted the Balfour Declaration, which was the foundation for the recognition of the State of Israel.
Lest We Forget
The Recessional hymn used in ANZAC Services was an ode written by the English poet Rudyard Kipling in 1897. It was originally published in the Times of London for Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee. The poem struck a chord and speedily became an imperial hymn opening with the words God of our fathers, known of old and set to the tune Melita. It was composed just in time for use in the commemoration of the dead from the South African War. It has since become even more famous as the source of the often quoted words Lest We Forget in ANZAC Day ceremonies held annually on the 25th April to commemorate the sacrifice of those who gave their lives. During the eight months of the Gallipoli campaign the Australians sustained 26,000 casualties of whom 8,000 died.
Pacific nations also commemorate their contributions to WW1, with nations like Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Fiji, and Samoa, providing personnel to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) and remembering the day in their respective nations.
The sacrifice of each and every one of these brave and courageous people to step up for their country in a time of need, echoes the greatest sacrifice ever of Jesus Christ, as He laid his life down for all of humanity.
No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends.
John 15:13, NET
